I looked at him sheepishly.

“I am… Micah helped me escape through the window.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes falling on Micah who’d now stepped out of the water. “Well, are you going for a swim?”

“I would, but I left my bikini at home.”

“Bi-kini?” Micah wrinkled his nose as he looked down at me.

“Uh, it’s what girls go swimming in.” I pointed to a group of girls further along the beach. “Like what they’re wearing.”

“Tell me where it is, and I’ll get it for you,” Griff offered.

“Nah, don’t bother. I’ll just hike up my skirt—”

“Where is it?” Micah said, towering over me, his tone of voice more of a command than a question.

“Um, it’s in the bottom drawer of my big wardrobe. And if you’re going to bother getting it, you may as well bring a towel too. I have one hanging on the back of my chair, near my bed. Just don’t get caught by Aiden.”

He dashed off, leaving me standing alone with Griff. Griff turned his eyes toward the ocean.

“Griff, I…” I’d opened my mouth before considering the rest of my sentence. The look on his face was killing me. Disappointment. It was subtle, but I knew him well enough for it to be pronounced for me.

Unable to bear the silence, I caught his hand and pulled him into the water after me. I began wading into the waters, lifting my skirt up above my knees.

But we weren’t alone for long. Micah returned about ten minutes later, my towel over his bare shoulder, my bikini scrunched up in his large fist. I left Griff and took both from him.

“Aiden didn’t catch you, I hope?”

He shook his head.

I left the beach and found a quiet part of the forest to change. Returning to the waves, I laid my towel down on a dry patch of sand before wading back into the water. Griff had moved toward Ben and his group of friends, leaving Micah swimming alone in the waves.

My brother stood up, finally having noticed me.

“What are you doing here?” he called.

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. He looked at me disapprovingly.

I waded back into the water, toward my brother and Griff rather than Micah, who seemed to be busy swimming. But the werewolf caught up with me in the water as soon as he noticed me. He stopped in front of me, blocking my way.

“Come with me,” he said.

“Huh?”

Before I could object, he pulled me toward him and fastened my arms around his neck. He began swimming in the opposite direction of my brother, deeper into the ocean.

Great.

I was beginning to feel nervous at how deep we were swimming. The waters were becoming rougher and rougher and we were nearing the edge of the island’s boundary.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to show you how I fish,” Micah said, tightening my hold on him.

“Micah!” a sharp female voice called. Micah stopped and turned around. Saira was swimming toward us, her bushy brown hair tied up in a bun over her head. She swam faster than I could have expected for such a short-limbed woman.

“Don’t go past the boundary again,” she said, swimming in front of us and blocking Micah. “Especially not with the princess.”

Micah looked disappointed but shrugged it off. He turned around and we approached the shore again. I let go of him once we were in shallower waters and swam over to join my brother and Griff. Micah followed me. I introduced the werewolf to those who hadn’t already met him, and we spent the next few hours until sundown swimming around in the cool waves, escaping the heat and humidity of the day, soaking in the warm sunshine.

Once the sun had set, we built a bonfire on the beach and Micah fetched some fish. Brett also joined us and helped him with the roasting. I made sure to sit next to Griff during the meal, talking to him about anything other than the werewolf.

I had to leave early, just in case my parents or Aiden checked in on my room. I hoped that they hadn’t already. Micah noticed me stand up and took the opportunity to walk over to me.

“I’ll take you back now?”

“Yes, please.”

I said good night to Griff and the others, annoyed that I couldn’t stay for marshmallows. Micah helped me climb on to his back once again and we headed back to my penthouse. I held on tight, my breath coming harsh and uneven as he leapt up the branches. I closed my eyes and buried my head against his back, scared one of the branches might gouge my eyes. When he stopped, I looked up. We were now parallel with my window. He took a giant leap that made my stomach flip and gripped hold of the window sill, pulling us both inside.

I was relieved to see that my door was still closed. Hopefully I had arrived just early enough to not be caught.

“Thank you,” I said.

“When will I see you again?”

I found his question odd. As though he was now expecting our meetings would be a regular occurrence.

“Tomorrow, after school, I guess,” I said.

I heard voices in the corridor outside.

“Go. Now!” I hissed.

He climbed back out of the window and hurled himself back onto the tree a few meters away. I closed the window and dove into bed, pulling the covers over me up to my forehead.

My door creaked open.

I’d made sure to bathe in the showers on the beach before leaving, but hoped the scent of ocean wasn’t still on my skin.

A weight pressed my mattress down. Too heavy for my mother. It was either Aiden or my father, but I dared not look up. I continued pretending that I was sleeping.